GW Competition Law Center and ABA Section of Antitrust Law to Host Retrospective Analysis of Agency Determinations in Merger Transactions Symposium

What: Retrospective Analysis of Agency Determinations in Merger Transactions symposium; A complete agenda can be found online.

When: Friday and Saturday, June 28–29

Where: George Washington University Law School2000 H St. NWWashington, D.C.(Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro, Blue and Orange lines)

Cost: This event is free and open to media.

BACKGROUND: How does merger policy affect economic performance? The Retrospective Analysis of Agency Determinations in Merger Transactions Symposium, sponsored by the George Washington University Law School Competition Law Center and American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, will bring together researchers, practitioners and policy makers to examine the use of retrospective studies to assess past enforcement decisions and improve merger control. The symposium, June 28-29 at the George Washington University Law School, will identify lessons from previous studies, discuss state-of-the-art evaluation techniques, and consider how to move the measurement of merger policy quality from an emphasis on outputs to an assessment of outcomes. William E. Kovacic, the Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy, will chair the event.

Highlights Include:

“The Role of Ex Post Evaluation Merger Review” — How do we know that government merger enforcement stops competitively harmful transactions and allows benign or procompetitive deals to proceed? This panel will discuss how ex post evaluation of merger enforcement decisions by antitrust agencies can help answer this question and improve merger policy.June 28, 9:50-11:10 a.m.

“Roundtable on Methodology and Technique” — This panel will explore the methodologies that enforcement agencies and researchers can use to do retrospective assessments of merger enforcement decisions. The panelists will examine state-of-the-art evaluation techniques, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of various ex post assessment methods and suggest refinements in the approaches used to conduct retrospectives.June 28, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

“Roundtable — Next Steps” — Panelists will offer their views on how antitrust enforcement agencies should institutionalize retrospective analysis. The panel will consider how antitrust agencies and academic researchers can build upon past work to improve the use of retrospective studies to advance enforcement policy.June 29, 1:45-3:45 p.m.